The PR Voyeur

This is something that should never have happened, but the DEA thinks that they can solve this situation by doing exactly what it was got them there in the first place. By ignoring the fact that a young man was probably traumatized for life (imagine FIVE DAYS in room with no food, water, anything while being able to hear others just outside the door) they’ve basically shut down comment on this situation and the media is doing the commentary for them. Something is horribly wrong and they need to address it. With trust in the DEA and government still riding low, something needs to be said.

Reminder: He was locked up initially for marijuana use.

thedailywhat:

Follow-Up of the Day: Student Left In Cell Sues DEA For $20M: It was never a question of when, but how much: Daniel Chong, the UC San Diego student abandoned in a cell by the Drug Enforcement Administration for five days without food, water, or human contact, has filed a lawsuit seeking $20 million in damages.
From the letter sent by Chong’s attorney to DEA general counsel:

“The deprivation of food and water for four and one-half days while the person is handcuffed the entire time constitutes torture under both international and domestic law.”

The letter requests that all federal agencies preserve any evidence related to the case, including video, interview notes, and written reports.

[death+taxes]

darlingmagpie:

Victim Shaming

The Daily What has since removed this from their main page, probably due to all the criticism surrounding this post. They essentially shame the victim (Rihanna) instead of the perpetrator (Chris Brown) for their public “reconciliation” of shorts. The comments were a firestorm of controversy but it still exists on tumblr at least for the moment. I was pretty disgusting and sent a strongly worded email to both The Daily What and the Cheezeburger network.

thedailywhat:

This Is All Kinds Of Wrong of the Day: Between allegedly inviting him to her birthday party, and probably collaborating with him on a “Birthday Cake” remix, and irrefutably thanking him for wishing her a happy birthday, I think it may be high time Rihanna re-read the police report from the night Chris Brown beat her half to death. 

Particularly this part:

Brown did not know what she did with the [car] key and began punching her in the face and arms. He then placed her in a head lock positioning the front of her throat between his bicep and forearm. Brown began applying pressure to Robyn F.’s left and right carotid arteries, causing her to be unable to breathe and she began to lose consciousness.

She reached up with her left hand and began attempting to gouge his eyes in an attempt to free herself. Brown bit her left ring and middle fingers and then released her.

You nearly died that night, Rihanna. You nearly died that night. 

“I’m going to beat the sh*t out of you when we get home,” he promised. You attempted to call for help and that just made him angrier. “Now I’m really going to kill you,” he vowed.

Any of this ringing a bell? Because I’ll never forget that night. I’ll never forget the horrific photos. I’ll never forget reading the terrifying police report.

And I’ll never forgive you for forgiving him.

[@rihanna.]

I was chatting with a friend the other day about how distateful I found all the “Lin” pull quotes that have been proliferating the sports journalism since the young Knicks star took the court. I’m a touch more sensitive, I understand sports writing is all about puns and cliches, but I certainly thought it bordered on discrimination. Twitter has been full of off-colour jokes about everything from his penis size to his youtube videos, and people have already been talking about why a kid this good took so long to be found and whether if he had been black or white, he would have been found ages ago. I guess if you’re not a 7 foot tall asian basketball player, they just completely discount you.

Then today comes around and my boyfriend shows me this garbage from ESPN of all places. This isn’t even MISGUIDED or an accient, this is outright racism. Asian-American teens across the continent are seeing this response and learning one thing, that the sports world and the NBA do not respect their talent. I’m pretty disgusted right now. Apology or not, late night oversight or not, this should never have happened.

thedailywhat:

Some Dumb Erratum of the Day: In the rush to come up with pun headlines to describe the phenom that is Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, unfortunately it was probably just a matter of time before someone slipped up and said something racist.

But many likely never thought that someone would be ESPN.

Covering the Knicks loss to the Hornets and the snapping of the rising star’s 7-game winning streak, the venerable sports network titled their article “Chink In The Armor.”

The offensive slur-pun was up on ESPN.com for 35 minutes between 2:30 and 3:05 AM.

As Mike Nizza of The Daily points out, the overnight shift lacks the sort of oversight that might have halted such an insensitive headline well prior to publishing, but that’s hardly an excuse.

ESPN has since released a statement apologizing for their choice of words, and vowing to conduct a “complete review of our cross-platform editorial procedures.”

[romenesko / screengrab: thanks dmoser2!]

Remember when I decried this post a week ago, wondering if anybody had found the actress who participated in this horribly racist and culturally insensitive video? They found her! And not only has she issued a statement apologizing, this 21 year old has also ALREADY had to make a public apology for lying about being a Napa Valley resident to compete in the 2012 Miss California pageant. Two public apologies at such a young age, you’re off to a lovely start Ms Chan.

thedailywhat:

Follow Up of the Day: Lisa Chan, the Asian-American actress who appeared in former Michigan congressman Pete Hoekstra’s widely excoriated “Yellow Peril” campaign ad, has formally apologized for agreeing to play the part of a Chinese stereotype.

“I am deeply sorry for any pain that the character I portrayed brought to my communities,” Chan wrote in a Facebook post.

She continued:

As a recent college grad who has spent time working to improve communities and empower those without a voice, this role is not in any way representative of who I am. It was absolutely a mistake on my part and one that, over time, I hope can be forgiven. I feel horrible about my participation and I am determined to resolve my actions.

The 21-year-old UC Berkeley graduate is the founder of a nonprofit organization for at-risk youth. She made headlines last year after she dubbed herself “Miss Napa Valley USA” despite not living in Napa County in order to compete in the 2012 Miss California pageant.

[cheatsheet / aam.]